The century of tolerance

The new Precht on international politics in the 21st century

The world is undergoing a transformation. It is shifting from a US-dominated order to a multipolar world with China and India emerging as new power centers. The gradual end of Pax Americana presents a tremendous challenge for Europeans: How do we deal with the rise of these countries? The danger is growing that we will fail to move away from new enemy images on a global level. The templates of "Christians against pagans," "civilized against savages," "freedom against communism," and "Christian Western culture against Islam" are now followed by "democracies against autocracies."

Who has propagated this narrative?

What interests lie behind it?

Why is it successful?

This audiobook aims to demonstrate that the supposed "systemic rivalry" with China and other states is indeed a rivalry, but not a systemic one. The task of our century is to break free from these age-old friend-enemy patterns and to allow for different developmental paths and cultural peculiarities. Because we will only protect and preserve human rights, which are not "Western" values, if we fully adhere to them. Tolerance, diversity, and openness can be demanded when we practice them ourselves in our dealings with others. For the first time in human history, the 21st century, marked by global ecological catastrophe, brings everyone together in the same boat. We can only master it if we focus on what unites all countries and cultures, not on what divides them. It will no longer be a century of "either-or" shaped by a hegemonic power, as in the past – but, if humanity is not to destroy itself: the century of tolerance.